The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus which causes HIV infection. According to a new study, early treatment is the best way to deal with it. The study suggested that people with HIV should seek early treatment to keep themselves healthy for a long time.

In a statement on Wednesday, the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) said that patients who started taking anti-AIDS medications at a time when their immune system was strong were less likely to develop the AIDS, a syndrome caused by HIV virus, than the people who wait for blood tests to show that their immune system has started to weaken.

According to NIH, the findings were so compelling that it decided to stop the study about a year early. The medical research center stated that the study was stopped so that people in the study could avail the benefits of the early treatment.

The study was funded by the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it is important to start the treatment as soon as possible.

As HIV virus does not trigger symptoms for a long time, a question arises that how soon after diagnosis patients should start taking drugs that could also cause side effects. A number of previous studies suggested that the treatment decreases the risk of spread of the disease. But, the previous studies have not provided enough evidence that a patient with HIV receives benefits of early treatment.

According to NIH, "The study's findings show that over about three years, the risk of serious illness or death was reduced by 53% in the early treatment group".

Dr. Jay Levy from the University of California said that he is still concerned about putting every patient on therapy. Levy was not involved in the study.